Home Owners Open To Improvement

A study on home improvement, commissioned by the Travis Perkins Group, has revealed that when it comes to bigger, more complex improvement works, the majority of UK homeowners look to a professional tradesman for a solution, but most are confident in their ability to undertake odd jobs and small tasks around the home as DIY projects.

The survey, consisting of 1,092 British homeowners, highlights that the future of the home improvement market is bright – both on the DIY and professional tradesman sides.
Key findings reveal that there are still certain no-go DIY areas, with more than 80 per cent of those surveyed saying they would hire a tradesman for re-wiring, bathroom installations and plastering. However, 87 per cent of respondents said they would happily take on odd jobs such as small repairs or minor installations themselves, and most would take on internal (81 per cent) and external (62 per cent) painting as DIY projects.
Although there are a number of jobs most homeowners would hire a tradesman to do, a significant proportion of DIY enthusiast homeowners would take on more complex projects themselves, such as tiling (45 per cent), laying a floor (41 per cent) and carpentry (30 per cent).
The survey results also reveal the trends towards DIY or DFY (done for you) between different age groups, genders and geographical areas. Homeowners aged 45-54 are the demographic most likely to tackle smaller DIY and odd jobs themselves (92 per cent), whereas young homeowners (aged 18-24) are the most likely to call on the professionals for odd jobs (33 per cent), compared to just 13 per cent across all age groups.

The younger age brackets, however, are the homeowners most prepared to give complex projects a go when most others would hire a professional – 33 per cent of 18-24-year-olds and 30 per cent of 25-34s would take on plumbing jobs themselves for example (compared to 24 per cent of those aged 45-54).
Although women homeowners are more likely than men to call in a professional for most home improvement tasks, they are in fact slightly more likely than men to take on smaller DIY jobs around the home, with 87 per cent of women surveyed saying they would undertake odd jobs themselves versus 86 per cent of men.
Men are more willing than women, however, to take on DIY jobs with a higher technical skill level. Thirty-six per cent of men would opt for DIY for carpentry jobs, for example, compared to 25 per cent of women.
Homeowners in Scotland and Wales are most comfortable with small-scale DIY with 92 per cent of respondents from both regions saying they would take on odd jobs around the home.
Homeowners in Northern Ireland are most likely to call on professionals for both smaller odd jobs (19 per cent) and larger jobs, such as rewiring (100 per cent) and plumbing (95 per cent).